Assistant Secretary for Unemployment Insurance

Maryland Department of Labor

February 11, 2026

Overview

The Assistant Secretary for Unemployment Insurance (UI) serves as the senior executive responsible for the administration, oversight, and continuous improvement of Maryland’s Unemployment Insurance program. This position provides strategic, operational, and policy leadership to ensure the timely, accurate, and compliant delivery of UI benefits and services to workers and employers, while safeguarding trust fund integrity and meeting federal and state requirements. This individual is responsible for ensuring that the unemployment insurance system operates effectively and serves as a reliable safety net that meets the needs of unemployed individuals and employers, maintaining workforce attachment and supporting economic resilience. The Assistant Secretary leads a large, complex organization operating in a highly regulated environment and is accountable for translating policy into effective operations, strengthening business processes, improving customer experience, and sustaining measurable performance outcomes.

Duties

Serves as a member of the executive leadership team of the Maryland Department of Labor.
Working with the Deputy Assistant Secretary and Chief of Operations, plans, directs, and oversees all operations of the Division of Unemployment Insurance, including benefits administration, adjudication, employer tax operations, appeals support, fraud prevention, and program integrity activities.
Leads continuous improvement initiatives to strengthen end‑to‑end business processes, improve timeliness and quality of claims processing, and enhance service delivery for claimants and employers.
Establishes performance expectations, monitors results against federal and state benchmarks, and implements corrective actions to ensure sustained compliance and accountability.
Ensures full compliance with federal and state UI laws, regulations, directives, and reporting requirements.
Oversees development and management of federal and state budgets, grant funding, and legislative and policy recommendations for the UI program.
Monitors the health and solvency of the UI Trust Fund and recommends operational or legislative strategies to promote fiscal stability and tax equity.
Serves as the primary liaison with the U.S. Department of Labor on program administration, grants, audits, and national initiatives.
Directs workforce planning, staff development, and organizational capacity‑building efforts to support effective program delivery.
Builds and maintains partnerships with internal and external stakeholders, including other government agencies, workforce partners, and employer organizations.

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